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After global warming and a second civil war devastated the former United States, two different societies rose from the ashes – the Union, a towering high-tech utopia, hugging the perimeter of the continent, and the devastated, untamed midsection known as the Ruins.

Seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor has an easy, privileged life in the Union. What she doesn’t have is any idea what to do with the rest of her life. She only knows she wants to do something meaningful, to make a difference in the lives of others.

When she’s kidnapped and taken into the Ruins as a pawn in a dispute involving her boyfriend, Bryce, her ideal world is turned upside down. What she learns while in the Ruins shakes her faith in everything she’s ever known, from Bryce, to her family, and even the Union itself.

Now Evan must choose whether to stay with Cyrus, the sexy, resourceful survivor who believes she’s in the Ruins for a reason, or return to the only life she’s ever known. But when she stumbles upon a dangerous plot that threatens both worlds, her decision could tear her apart.

The Union is a futuristic young adult romantic adventure.

Not only do I have a review today, but I also have an excerpt and a giveaway, so keep on reading!

The Union is a romantic dystopian set in what’s become of the United States after a second civil war. Unsure of what to do with her life, impulsive Union citizen Evan goes on a cross-country luxury train journey with her friends to find herself, only to be kidnapped by citizens of the Ruins. This unfortunate event changes Evan’s life, setting her on course to discover love and purpose…and possibly the end of both the Ruins and the Union. I really enjoyed the characters, definitely falling for Cyrus in the ruins while also relating to Evan. The pacing was a bit confusing at times, but the flow worked for me. That being said, I think some readers might find it too slow in places, at which point I’d remind them that this is very much a romantic dystopian and to chill out. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Ruins.

Best and worst

The best: Cyrus! <3

The worst: There were jumps into the future that confused me at times.

Snapshot

First impressions

Did someone say post-civil war American dystopia? Because that seems to be my new thing. I loved reading The V Girl by Mya Robarts, so I had high hopes for this baby. Plus, the covers for the series are really different, and I like them!

Break it down

Who

The Ruins was narrated in first person by Evan…who was a girl, ok? Also, she had red hair, like 80% of YA heroines. She wasn’t sure what to do with her life, but she did know that she didn’t want to work in fashion for her stepdad. I found Evan extremely relatable in her indecision, sense of right and wrong and impulsiveness.

One thing I really liked about Evan at the start of the book was that she didn’t pull that whole “I ain’t no snitch” card after getting beaten up. It drives me bonkers when people get hurt and then clam up when asked about who did it. If you attack me, I promise that I’ll take you down (the legal way).

Evan liked Bryce. Bryce, it turns out, liked Evan. Except Bryce was shady as hell. In the beginning, I was seriously conflicted; on the one hand, I couldn’t trust him and his little side act, but then he could also be quite sweet and romantic. Almost too romantic. Cue alarm bells. Basically, Bryce isn’t who he first appears to be, and he’s not who he then appears to be either. IT’S ALL VERY CONFUSING.

But then Evan ends up in the Ruins and is rescued by a ‘family’ of children and young adults, banded together after losing their families. Some of the younger children blended together in my mind (there were more of them than I could keep straight in my head), but the older members took root in my consciousness…and my heart. I absolutely adored Sonia, sweet and caring as she was. Draya was the bitch of the group, very vocal in her distrust of Evan.

Of course, the star of the group was Cyrus, reformed playboy with his old skills intact: charm and warming good looks. He was calm, diplomatic and adorably thoughtful, and I most definitely fell for him.

I’m going through a phase where I’m relating all of the book characters to the cast of The 100, as that’s my current binge watch. I’d put Cyrus down as the Finn type (I love Finn), Lucien (Cyrus’ big brother and the leader of the family) as a more moral Bellamy and Draya as Octavia (except that in this book, Lucien and Draya are a couple, not siblings!). Evan…well, Evan is a bit of a mashup between Clarke and Clary from the Shadowhunter universe, taking Clary’s propensity to freak the hell out (and her red hair).

What

The first quarter of the book consists of Evan finishing up school, not knowing what to do with her life – unlike everyone around her. After a violent encounter with the “mean girls” at school, she decides to hop on a train and follow her best friends to the west coast, hoping to find herself along the way. Lo and behold, her high school crush and head mean girl’s ex-boyfriend is on the train, and the two hit it off. While this first part of the book wasn’t filled with action and excitement, I was never really bored, and I thought it was

…which gets her into a world of trouble. Soon (i.e. from around 25%), Evan finds herself in the Ruins, which she legitimately flips out about. That’s another thing I liked about her. She really struggled to come to terms with what she was seeing, as she’d been taught her whole life that the Ruins were dangerous to living things. She struck me as clever, but she was still young and freaking out, reacting in a believable way to the people she met.

The Union said the Ruins can’t sustain life, that no one has lived out here for over a century. They lied about that, it’s possible they lied about everything.

My world’s been ripped apart and thrown in my face like bitter confetti. The Union I know doesn’t exist and never really did. How am I supposed to go home when home is a fantasy?

Let’s talk about pacing of the plot for a second. This might be something that puts some people off. This book isn’t non-stop action and intrigue. I’d say, the first 20% is about setting the scene for Evan’s first-world-problems good life, then 10% of kidnapping, 40% of character and relationship development in the Ruins, before then getting into the serious, world-changing stuff at around the 70% mark. Some readers might find that too slow, but for the most part, it worked for me.Admittedly, there were some unexpected jumps in time, and I was a little confused when her kidnappers didn’t react to her trying to get back to the Union like I expected them to. However, ultimately, the story did keep going, and I was hooked enough that I wanted to do nothing but keep reading, including just past 3am.

The ending was a bit too rushed and easy, but at least it didn’t end on a cliffhanger. I’m eager to read the next book to see how the story continues and if Evan and Cyrus can have an HEA (though I might have to wait until book 3), but I’m not dying to read it, if you know what I mean.

Oh, and a warning: people die. Prepare to be upset.

Where & when

The book is over a hundred years in the future, following a second American civil war. Citizens of the Union believe that the centre of the United States was devastated by global warming and war, leaving it uninhabitable. Instead, they have built up their cities around the edges of the country, doing away with fossil fuels and creating an idyllic society with structure, free education, free healthcare and technology.

Meanwhile, those left in the Ruins live like the early settlers in makeshift communities, trading for goods and using waterfalls for showers. They had no electricity or running water, and a lot of people didn’t know how to read. There were some gaps (like what they did for toilets), but for the most part, the world-building was actually very engrossing!

How (was it written)

The book was a little slow to begin with, but Hernandez hit her stride once Evan entered the Ruins. Hernandez’s style was very easy and engaging to read, though some weird punctuation usage did throw me off from time to time.

Why (you should read it)

Overall, The Union seems to mash-up elements of dystopia and contemporary, so if these are your things, then I’d recommend the book, especially if you don’t mind a slow burn and some intense but pretty PG romance.

Goodreads updates

Excerpt

Once the sun rises, I can make out trees in the distance. Real trees with leaves, which means there must be water nearby. I’m not sure Ruins water is safe to drink, but I do know I’ll die if I don’t drink something.

Even though I’ve been walking for hours, the trees don’t seem to be getting any closer. My legs have taken on a sponge-like quality and I stumble, but manage to stay upright. If I fall, I may never get up again.

I’m almost to the trees. They’re only a little farther now.

There’s no water here. How can there be trees without water?

Despair overtakes me and I drop down, pounding my fists on the barren ground. I stuff a soft green leaf in my mouth, seeking moisture, but my mouth is so dry, I gag on the pieces, tearing my throat like shards of broken glass.

My head spins as I lie on my back and struggle to form coherent thoughts. I take a deep breath and tell myself to think. Think is such a strange word.Think, think, think. It doesn’t even sound English.

Shaking my head to clear my mind, I try to pull myself together, remembering where I am and forcing myself to focus on my immediate situation. What do the Buddhists call it? Being mindful.

My brain works to form rational thoughts, but there’s nothing rational about this. I left home to find my place in the world, is this really where my search was supposed to lead me? It’s more like a cruel joke. If I was on a date with destiny, it just took a bizarre turn into a twisted ending I never saw coming.

God, if only I hadn’t gone to the park that night, none of this would’ve happened. I begin to cry. For my family and friends who will never know what happened to me, and for me. I’m not ready to die, I’m only 17.

I can’t help wondering if I would have spent so much time agonizing over my future if I’d known I’d be dead so soon. If I’d known, maybe I’d have done everything differently. Now I know my future. My life ends here. Alone. In the Ruins.

3 responses to “Review: The Union by T.H. Hernandez”

Ok. So I’m officially a big fan of all of your charts and graphs. I’m going to have to look into doing something like this over at YaReads. Great review!!!! Thanks so much for joining the Union & the Ruins blog tour, Dani!

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